Dragon Wish

by Judith Leger

  found a bargaining weapon against him. “You can’t harm

  me.”

  A low rumble came from the long neck. “That may be so,

  but I can hurt the ones you care for. Do you desire that?”

  Her heart thudded then sped to a frantic pace. “What do

  you want from me?”

  “Human, get on my back. The lesser king demands you

  come to him. He wishes to see this One Dragon King you

  carry.”

  Renewed fear for her child crawled over her back. Seren

  lifted her chin, determined not to allow her terror to show.

  “And if I refuse, you will continue killing the people here.

  Destroying their peaceful city.”

  “I care not what happens to these weak creatures.”

  A slight flicker appeared in the dragon’s eyes. Did he lie?

  “But your master is human. Don’t you care about him?”

  The dragon shifted its head back several inches, blinked

  and mewled. “It pleases me to follow his dictates for now.”

  “And when you are finished with him, he’ll be destroyed

  too?”

  The giant beast whipped its neck so it looked down the

  line of its nose at her, haughty, untouchable for someone low

  on the food chain like her. Its roar thundered in the enclosed

  gardens. “I am Arcane. One day, I will reign over all rogue

  dragons. No human, wizard, or dragon will dictate over

  me. Even now, this lesser king deludes himself into thinking

  he controls my actions.”

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  Seren blinked, her mind rushing with the realization that

  this beast was the one Paladin had told her about. He’d

  called him a rogue beast. She called upon what little bravery

  she found inside and asked. “Then why? Why are you doing

  this?”

  “I gain great power each time I use my magic on lesser

  dragons. Once vanquished, their magic belongs to me. After

  a time, none will defeat me. Avaris will then know the

  dragons’ true strength. Not as protectors, but as the true

  rulers over the planet. The strongest will lead.”

  “It won’t happen. Paladin will stop you from hurting

  anyone else. You are a wicked beast. Only pain and suffering

  will come to you.”

  “Silence.” The roar rebounded off the walls of the garden.

  Seren jerked, a flash of renewed fear rushing in her veins.

  When Arcane grunted again, his tone came out low and

  calm. “Do you not know what I have suffered from the

  hands of both humans and dragons? I was not to be. I was

  hunted, captured, tortured, and intentionally wounded so I

  would die. But I did not. I fought to live.”

  Seren frowned. “Who did this to you?”

  “The ones who feared what I and my fellow hatchlings

  would become.”

  She waited for him to go on, but he just stared at her.

  Empathy for him made her look at him with a little more

  understanding. Still, his actions were wrong. His pain didn’t

  justify the death and destruction. He wanted revenge. He

  was selfish.

  “So you’re proving them right by the way you’re acting. Is

  that satisfaction enough for you?”

  The long neck curved in a loop. Eyes narrowed, his

  nostrils widened. “Enough of your logic. Climb on my neck.”

  “If I do, will you swear not to harm this city?”

  Low rumbling laughter came from his throat. He tilted

  his head. The long line of his lips curled up. “But of course. It

  is such a simple matter to swear.”

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  She had no choice. If leaving with him guaranteed the

  good people in this city would live, she would go. Seren

  stepped nearer. A clawed front hand reached out and

  grasped her around her waist. He lifted her to the top of his

  neck. She straddled the width and laid her hands flat.

  “I won’t fall off, will I?”

  “Will it matter if you do?”

  Bravado came out in her words. “No, I guess it won’t

  matter. After all, I can fly now.”

  Another deep chuckle escaped the beast. “Of course you

  can.”

  His wings spread. They moved great gusts of air around

  the garden. Trees limbs swayed outward. Grass bent over

  and leaves lifted off the ground, carried by the unnatural

  wind currents.

  When the beast took off, Seren caught the sound of her

  name shouted. She glanced in the direction of the gate she’d

  entered to see Leo and Calis rushing from the protective tree

  line. Calis came to a stop. He dropped to one knee, a large

  bow stretched in his hands, ready to fire an arrow with what

  appeared to be a harpoon tip.

  Seren screamed, hoping he’d hear above the beat of

  wings. He had to stop. The weapon was useless against this

  dragon. “Don’t do it. I’m leaving of my own free will.”

  Leo leapt at Calis, hands stretched out to grab him. “No!

  You’ll hurt Seren.”

  With one blink of her eyes, the arrow shot free at the

  same time Arcane swung his tail. The long tail swept over the

  ground, taking bushes, flowers, and a couple of trees out

  before crashing into the two men, sending them flying

  several feet off the ground to land on the edge of the open

  area. The arrow grazed against the dragon’s cheek, slicing a

  furrow below his eye.

  Under her hands, tension increased in Arcane’s neck. He

  drew in a deep breath, prepared to release his dragon fire.

  She lay flat against his neck and shouted to him. “You swore.

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  Don’t break your promise. If you do, I’ll jump off. I’ll allow

  my son’s power to protect me and this city.”

  She didn’t truly believe what she said. But he had to

  accept it. Nothing else mattered. If he left with her, chances

  for survival of all the inhabitants in the city, Leo and Calis

  included, increased.

  The dragon straightened into a rigid, upright position. He

  stayed silent, unmoving for several moments. Seren waited

  as her gaze searched the garden below. She found the two

  men, their bodies crumpled and unmoving, a good distance

  from where the tail had struck them.

  “Very well, human.” Arcane muttered. His wings moved

  faster. His body leveled out, and he lifted away into the night

  sky. Seren, a single tear rolling down her cheek, kept her

  focus on Leo and Calis until she could no longer see them.

  She decided then that this beast along with the king he spoke

  of would pay.

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  Chapter Nineteen

  Exhausted from trying to stay balanced on the broad neck

  of the rogue dragon, Seren struggled to keep her eyes open.

  The further from Durfalin the dragon flew, the more hope of

  escaping and finding Paladin dwindled. Paladin would never

  allow harm to come to her or their son. She yearned to see

  him, hear his voice, and touch his warm skin. Fighting panic

  born from fearful exhaustion, she focused on the gentle

  movements in her stomach.


  The air currents grew colder. The sea below turned into

  frozen peaks of rocks and wide stretches of tundra. In the

  distance, a towering white castle stretched sleek and majestic

  to the sky. Outlined by the dark night, the dim light revealed

  the seclusion of the place. Protected by the surrounding cliffs

  covered in fir trees, the only entrance was a road which

  twisted and turned up steep inclines until it ended at the

  gates. At least ten turrets rose from the stone walls of the

  octagon double curtain walls.

  Arcane swooped down. He glided to a wide veranda on

  one of the upper towers. Blue flame torches, set in holders,

  bracketed the wide archway into the tower. The flames

  fluttered in the cold breeze. Clutching the balcony’s edge

  with his clawed back feet, Arcane lowered his head so Seren

  could slide off.

  All those hours on Arcane’s neck had left her legs numb.

  They refused to hold her up when her feet hit the stone and

  she fell back. She landed on her rear unable to move her legs

  right away. The chilly stone of the balcony went through her

  clothes and seeped into her skin. She shivered. Tingling set

  up in her muscles and she gasped.

  Soft, deep laughter came from the opening to the tower.

  “Well done, my friend. Soon my brother will follow, and I

  will have my ultimate revenge. His head.”

  The words ended with a low chuckle. Seren stared at the

  darkened opening. A slender young man, dressed in a

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  flowing white robe over his pants and shirt, stepped into the

  bluish light. Seren gasped. Prettier, thinner, and his hair a

  whiter hue than Paladin’s, this man couldn’t be anyone but

  his brother. Their features resembled each other too much to

  be a coincidence.

  He reached her side. Seren stared wide-eyed and open-

  mouthed at him.

  “Come, my dear, surely my brother spoke of me to you.”

  He held out a hand. She glanced at the slender fingers. She

  shook her head.

  “No? Pity. He should have.”

  “Don’t touch me.” She slid her numbed legs under her

  and stood. Trembling with fatigue, she glanced at him. He

  met her stare. She sucked in a breath at the strange aura

  darkening his eyes. A purplish black rimmed the outer edge

  of the whites with a dusky veil coating them.

  The baby moved. His eyes shifted to her waistline.

  “So my nephew is aware of me, is he?”

  “Not really. He’s just waking up.”

  A slow, half-smile formed on his lips. “I am Rylen,

  Paladin’s brother, King of the White Dragon clan. And you

  are?”

  “Don’t placate me. You know who I am.”

  The smile broadened. He was a pretty man, but she saw

  nothing but emptiness in his eyes. She found no trace of

  compassion in them. Seren, for the first time since arriving,

  feared for her child. “What do want with me?”

  He raised his right hand and flicked a lock of her hair.

  “Why your life, of course.”

  Seren stepped back. “That’s not funny.”

  “You stand in my way. You and the child.”

  The iciness of his voice and cold look terrified her, but the

  way he spoke, his actions, infuriated her. How dare he

  believe he would take the one thing she wanted most in life?

  “Do we? Well, that’s too bad, isn’t it?”

  He chuckled, not bothered by her pretension. His eyes

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  shifted to where Arcane waited. “She has strength. You did

  not expect that, did you?”

  The huge dragon grunted low, the sound forming words

  to Seren. “Matters not. She and the child will die.”

  Her anger rose at the audacity of the two. Seren pivoted

  and glared at the dragon. “Dream on. You, along with you,”

  she pointed from Arcane to Rylen, “will never harm my child.

  I’ll see you both dead first. Now if you don’t mind, I’m tired.”

  Rylen smirked at her. He reached out, his hand open to

  strike her. Several inches from her cheek, he stopped. The

  smirk disappeared. He pushed against the air separating

  them, but couldn’t draw any closer. For a moment, Seren

  didn’t understand, and then she saw a barrier, full of golden

  magical particles encompassing her entire body.

  The time had arrived for her to gloat. “Not as easy as you

  figured, eh?”

  He drew back. “For now, I will abide by your desires, but

  soon, the protection will not be enough to save you. This I

  say, this I swear,” he muttered, an evil expression twisting

  his face. In the next moment, icy control cleared his features.

  He held out his arm in the direction of the entrance to the

  castle.

  “If you please, my lady, I will escort you to your quarters.”

  She inclined her head and followed him. When she stood

  in the doorway, she glanced over her shoulder at the rogue

  dragon. His stare cut through her. Hatred and bitterness

  reflected in his cold eyes. She sent a silent plea to Paladin.

  She desperately needed him.

  * * * *

  The odor of burned wood mingled with the stench of

  rotting bodies was carried by the wind. The scent reached

  Paladin long before the city came into view. Need to leap

  from the ship and fly the remaining distance ate at him, but

  he waited. The unknown lay ahead of him. Better he and his

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  crew approached with care, prepared for the unexpected.

  Seren’s face, alight with laughter, flashed in his mind. A

  searing pain shot through his gut. He gritted his teeth to

  keep from crying out. He had to maintain control until he

  discovered what had happened during his absence.

  The lookout shouted from the top center mast. Paladin

  leaned against the ship’s rail. He blinked to set his dragon

  vision to see across the distance to the city.

  The deep blue outline of land grew darker along the

  western horizon. Thin black smoke columns drifted up and

  across the sky above Durfalin. As the ship drew closer to the

  city, the sight of the fire marks on the walls and upper levels

  of the buildings forced a shocked gasp from him. The pale

  stone was soaked in the soot and smoke, changing the color

  to a blackish brown. Armed, weary soldiers lined the walls.

  The docks lay splintered on top of their corresponding cases.

  Huge chucks and splintered wood were scattered across the

  raised land surrounding the city.

  He ordered the ship to descend not far from the land gate

  on the western side. Ren’s home sat not far from the

  entrance. From this spot, he’d reach Seren sooner.

  Hovering five feet from the rocky soil, the ship came to a

  stop along the outer wall. Rope ladders rolled from the rails,

  attached by secured hooks. Paladin grasped the railing and

  leapt over the side, foregoing using the ladders. He sprinted

  the distance to the massive gates of the city.

  The gate swung open. The guards on duty av
erted their

  gazes when he entered. Dread swirled in his heart. He

  hurried, his heart pounding against his ribs, until he reached

  the house where he had left Seren and his friends. The outer

  wall about the gardens remained. Breathless with disbelief,

  he stood, shoulders slumped, staring at the mound of rubble

  and scorched wood.

  Sickening odor filled his nostrils. A pile of rotting corpses

  stacked one on top of another at the street corner sent the

  stench into the air. He couldn’t look too close for fear he’d

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  spy Seren or one of the two friends he’d left behind.

  His dragon’s blood boiled with the need to roar his

  frustrations, but he fought against it. Just because the

  building lay destroyed did not mean they were lost to him.

  He looked both ways down the street.

  Several men dressed in tattered robes scurried behind

  him. He reached out and grabbed one.

  “What happened to the people staying in this place?” He

  motioned toward the shell of the building with his head.

  The man whimpered. “I do not know, my lord.”

  “Then tell me who would know”

  “The mayor perhaps. He’s assigned scribes to list the

  survivors and the dead.” The man informed him. “They’ve set

  up a place near his home, over yonder.”

  Paladin released him. With renewed hope, he stared in

  the direction the man suggested he go. He strode down the

  street, focusing on one step at a time until he found the

  building. From the smell, it had been set aside to hold the

  dead.

  People waited in lines outside the doors. Every little

  while, men and women would depart, their shoulders

  shaking, grief evident with the tears and sorrow etched deep

  on their faces. Others were allowed in.

  Gritting his teeth, he shouldered his way past the waiting

  people. The guard at the door lifted his dragonstone lance in

  warning. Paladin ignored him, fixing the soldier with a look

  which forced the other man to back down.

  “I would speak with the mayor.”

  The soldier swallowed, eyed the swords strapped to

  Paladin’s waist. After a quick nod, he led the way inside and

  up a flight of marbled stairs to the left of the entrance. They

  went straight down the hallway to the end. Two more guards

  stood at attention on either side of a set of double doors. The

  soldier guiding Paladin whispered to one of the guards. The